1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward a locking device for the hub bearing riding on the type of spindle found commonly in the commercial trucking industry. By locking the hub bearing into place, the wheel which rests on the hub and rotates around the spindle is also stabilized. The present invention can be utilized as a replacement for the circular three-piece combination fastener currently in use on spindles already on the highway, or it can be incorporated during the manufacture of a new spindle-unit. Primarily, the locking device will be utilized by the commercial trucking industry, but it is also compatible with consumer driven commonly available four-wheel drive motor vehicle spindles. Moreover, the present locking device can be utilized for any compatibly grooved spindle.
2. Description of the Previous Art
a) To the Applicant's knowledge, the circular three-piece combination fastener, such as the one associated with the presently manufactured Rockwell SQHP, SL/SQ-100/P single-reduction tandem axle, is not disclosed with specificity in any United States patent. However, to better understand the state-of-the-art relating to presently used commercial trucking industry spindles and fasteners, the circular three-piece combination fastener consists of an inner adjuster nut, a washer and an outer adjuster nut. The inner adjuster nut is provided with a dowel pin for engaging one of the sixteen holes provided on the keyed-washer with the combination fastener being completed by tightening the outer adjuster nut against the washer. Because of the design of this circular three-piece combination fastener, loading torque to the hub bearing according to a manufacturer's suggested specified pressure is both tedious and inconsistent. In the past, if the torque is too low, the oil seal can fail which causes the hub bearing to run loose while, if the torque is too high, the hub bearing can run hot which causes the wheel to lock-up. For whatever reason, when incorrect torque has been applied to the spindle-unit, the resultant risk of accident and death is magnified.
b) U.S. Pat. No. 299,969 (Fahy) discloses an axle-nut for a wooden wheel and axle combination. The 1884 Fahy invention is intended to prevent movement of the wheel back and forth endwise on the axle and keep the track of the wheel like that of a new wagon. Because of the era in which the Fahy axle-nut was patented, the Fahy design is only functional at the relatively slow velocities attributed to horse-driven vehicles--the common modes for transportation in the United States during the Nineteenth Century, e.g., buggies and covered wagons. Fahy also discloses the combination of a washer of the required thickness affixed rigidly to the nut by rivets, bolts or screws through corresponding openings. Additionally, the Fahy axle-nut is limited to use with an axle.
c) U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,562 (Garrison) specifically discloses a wire wheel hub adaptor. The device is a combination used in securing a wire spoked wheel with an internally locking hub. Moreover, the Garrison apparatus fits over an existing bearing cup while simultaneously extending outwardly from an attachable brake assembly wherein its annular flange is provided with counter-sunk bores corresponding to the preexisting stud pattern already extending from the brake assembly. Additionally, for its utilization, the apparatus further requires the combination of an axle shaft, spline shaft and a stub shaft, to name a few of the features of the wire wheel hub adaptor.